Black-crested bulbul
Black-crested Bulbul | |
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P. a. atriceps in the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal, India. | |
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Species: | P. melanicterus
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Binomial name | |
Pycnonotus melanicterus (Gmelin, 1789)
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The Black-crested Bulbul, Pycnonotus melanicterus, is a member of the bulbul family of passerine birds. It is found in southern Asia from India and Sri Lanka east to Indonesia.
This is a bird of forest and dense scrub. It builds its nest in a bush; two to four eggs is a typical clutch. The Black-crested Bulbul feeds on fruit and insects.
The Black-crested Bulbul is about 19 cm in length, including its relatively long tail. It has olive upperparts and yellow or olive-yellow underparts. The head is black. Sexes are similar in plumage, but young birds are duller than adults. The flight is bouncing and woodpecker-like.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Pycnonotus_gularis_%28Karnataka%29.jpg/220px-Pycnonotus_gularis_%28Karnataka%29.jpg)
There are several distinctive taxa that generally have been considered subspecies of the Black-crested Bulbul, but increasingly are treated as separate species (and actually were considered separate species originally): The Ruby-throated Bulbul (P. dispar) from Sumatra and Java is virtually crestless, has a deep red throat and reddish eyes, the Flame-throated Bulbul (P. gularis) from the Western Ghats in India is virtually crestless, has an orange-red throat and whitish eyes, the Black-capped Bulbul (P. melanicterus) from Sri Lanka is virtually crestless, has a yellow throat and brownish eyes, and the Bornean Bulbul (P. montis) from Borneo has a black crest, yellow throat and brownish eyes. Confusingly, P. gularis has also been referred to as the Ruby-throated Bulbul. When all of the above are considered separate species, the Black-crested Bulbul is found from eastern Indian east to Vietnam and south to Peninsular Malaysia, and has a black crest, red or black throat and whitish eyes.
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ Template:IUCN2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
- Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6